Just a 15-minute streetcar ride from downtown when it officially opened in September 1913, the Eastwood neighborhood was hailed as "one of the most convenient, attractive and beautiful homesites in the city of Houston" by the Houston Daily Post.

Developed by William A. Wilson in 1911 just after his success in creating Woodland Heights, Eastwood boasted paved streets, terraced lots and freshly planted oaks and sycamores lining the roads. It quickly became one of the preeminent suburban neighborhoods, home to Howard Tellepsen, Charles L. Bering (owner of what's now Bering's Hardware) and Howard Hughes, who, according to neighborhood lore, lived briefly with an aunt on McKinney while he was building an airplane in a garage on nearby Eastwood Street.

One hundred years later, the same tree-lined streets, and Arts and Crafts, Prairie and American Foursquare houses continue to make Eastwood a popular neighborhood. In the spirit of the centennial, the Eastwood Civic Association's 18th annual home tour is focusing on the neighborhood's historical character by featuring five homes built between 1912 and 1929, plus a newly constructed house with Craftsman design influences.

"Eastwood is one of the largest collections of that period of architecture, and the neighborhood's prevailing lot and set-back limits discourage lot subdivisions and townhome in-fill so you don't get this hodgepodge of housing," said Karen Neimeier, of the East Historic Home Tour. "I think it's one of the things that draws people to Eastwood. Our tour has a different vibe; this isn't a take-your-shoes-off kind of tour; homeowners are almost always in their homes and talk to guests about renovations they've done or their experience living in the neighborhood. Sometimes they make cookies or hand out lemonade or have music in the backyard."

The half-dozen homes open to the public include one of the first three houses in the neighborhood, a 1912 American Foursquare with a wrap-around porch built for Ira G. Bond, and a double-lot Craftsman house built in 1913 by the president of the Sam Houston Trust Co., March Culmore. (His three sisters taught school in the servants' quarters.) Also included are a 1916 Mission-style bungalow and a Craftsman-inspired bungalow built in 1919. A 1929 bungalow outside Eastwood's original boundaries shows the larger area represented by the Eastwood Civic Association, which stretches east from Milby to Lawndale and from Harrisburg south to the Gulf Freeway.

"We were looking for our first home to own in all the usual Inner Loop places - Montrose, the Heights, but we were both at the beginning of our careers and needed an affordable alternative. We happened upon Eastwood and knew almost immediately that it was the place for us. We fell in love with the architecture of the homes," said Matt Fugate, who, along with partner Rob Browing, has opened their revamped bungalow for the tour. "It's just been fantastic to watch the neighborhood change."

The single new house on the tour was built in 2009 after a fire destroyed the previous one on the lot. The 2,800-square-foot structure features many Craftsman-style details that help it blend into the neighborhood. While Eastwood does not have a historic designation, its deed restrictions have never lapsed since they were adopted in 1913.

"I think it's really interesting to have new construction that fits bundled with historic homes, because it shows that you can do new construction that's energy efficient with a big kitchen and things that people desire now, but it doesn't have to look like a box," Neimeier said.

Indeed, while most of the houses are historical, their appeal isn't as time capsules, but rather how homeowners have worked within the original structures' frameworks to create modern spaces. Each has a unique mix of original or vintage-style architectural details such as hardwood floors, built-in bookcases, stained-glass windows, stately fireplaces, claw-foot tubs and arched doorways alongside state-of-the-art kitchens, palatial bathrooms and open floor plans.

In addition to the home tour, this year the Eastwood Civic Association has organized a photo exhibit at Tlaquepaque Market, 700 Telephone, documenting the neighborhood's history. "The East End Then and Now" features a trove of historical images culled by former DiverseWorks curator and longtime Eastwood resident Diane Barber from city and University of Houston archives. It also includes photographs of present-day East End by artist Alex Luster, the filmmaker behind "Stick 'Em Up," a documentary about street artists, and Abrahán Garza, whose method of superimposing old images over present-day views has been published in the "Houston Press" and on houstoricproject.com.

The weekend's events aren't all about the neighborhood's past, though. Better Block Houston, an organization that advocates for the development of pedestrian-friendly streets, will be re-imagining the 700 block of Telephone Road on Sunday with the installation of temporary on-street bike lanes, trees and colorful crosswalks. The third-annual free street festival also will feature live music, an arts-and-crafts bazaar, street performers, food trucks, a mini farmers market and pumpkin patch, and an exhibit on the East End's history.

With the addition of the BBVA Compass stadium, an influx of restaurants and bars, and the arrival of the Harrisburg MetroRail line next year, Eastwood is poised to be Houston's hottest new neighborhood - one that's been 100 years in the making.